China Environmental Law

There’s a great post today by Bill Powell at The China Blog about President Hu Jintao’s speech at the Boao Forum for Asia in Sanya.  You can find the complete text of the speech here. It is remarkable, as Powell points out, for giving only the slightest nod to the “Green Asia” theme of the Forum. It is fundamentally a “full speed ahead, damn the torpedoes” prescription for continued economic development of China and the rest of Asia. 

The Hu speech is nicely juxtaposed with this article from the BBC which says a new study confirms “China ‘now top carbon polluter.’”  It quotes the lead researcher for the University of California study team, Dr Auffhammer, as follows:

“Our figures for emissions growth are truly shocking,” he said.

“But there is no sense pointing a finger at the Chinese. They are trying to pull people out of poverty and they clearly need help.

“The only solution is for a massive transfer of technology and wealth from the West.”

He acknowledged that this eventuality was unlikely.

Those scientists aspiring to stabilise global emissions growth before 2020 to prevent what they believe may be irreversible damage to the climate may be wondering how this can possibly be achieved.

Should I kill myself now or wait until the slowly rising sea level swamps my 10th floor Shanghai apartment? 

I know of many Western company executives who say “I may not believe in the reality of ‘climate change,’ but I can no longer ignore the fact that it is driving policy and consumer demand and I must adapt to this reality” OK, they usually express themselves in more colorful if less articulate language, but the point is they accept the commercial need to bow down before the “climate change” altar. Hu Jintao seems to be saying he’s not smoking that opiate; he’s got real work to do like keeping nearly a billion people employed, and he is not going to let “climate change” drive his policy.

Although I think his position is genuinely held, it also works as a fantastic bargaining chip when the “climate change” missionaries come calling. He can neatly suggest that the West can pay for its past sins by “a massive transfer of technology and wealth” to China (thus helping to keep his teeming masses employed) and control carbon emissions at a fraction of the cost of controlling them in the West. I like that hand, and I don’t think he’s bluffing.

The other noteworthy part of The China Blog post is the bafflement expressed by “clean tech” salesmen at the President’s apparent lack of support for their products. I’m not sure what they expected - “a scrubber on every coal-fired plant, secondary treatment for all wastewater; and a wind turbine in every backyard” - but I wouldn’t get too discouraged.  Follow the laws, the Plans, and the specific local responsibility systems, and you will discover where the opportunities exist and how to pitch your product or service. Save your money and don’t go to major events like Boao or court national figures, unless you are proposing a single project so large it will need national approvals. I have never met Ma Kai but he must be an extraordinarily charming man because half of Christendom claims him as their special friend, but realize that he could care less (winks and nods notwithstanding) about your treatment technology or service. Your time is better spent finding actual opportunities to sell or deploy your product in the trenches.